Real Madrid were held by Atletico Madrid, as Juventus were made to fight hard for their victory by Monaco. PSG will be without their talisman Ibrahimovic in their clash against Barcelona.
The Champions League finally returned after a long period of absence, as the big guns of Europe faced each other in the last 8 of Europe's elite competition.
Real Madrid held in the Madrid derby
In the first night of the quarter finals, Real Madrid took on their city rivals Atletico Madrid in a repeat of the Champions League final clash last season, where the Los Blancos emerged as the winners.But the clash between the two rivals on Tuesday was nothing compared to their thrilling final last May, with both teams level-pegging at the final whistle as the match ended 0-0.
Real Madrid were comparitively the better side throughout the match, as the majority of the attacks were coming from the white half of Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo who returned to his best in recent weeks, couldn't seem to find his goalscoring feet that has seen him score 38 goals this season. Ronaldo had the oppurtunity to put the Los Blancos in front with a free-kick, but the set piece specialist found the Atletico wall rather than the back of the net.
Atletico Madrid had a few chances on goal with their best chance coming from striker Antoine Greizmann, who was on target but couldn't seem to find the goal thanks to Casillas' heroics. Atletico keeper Jan Oblak was the busier of the two keepers, as he left the entire Real Madrid attack force frustrated. Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were all on target for Real Madrid but thanks to the heroics of Oblak, the final score of the match remained 0-0.
The result meant that Real Madrid haven't been beaten their crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in any of their seven encounters this season, with Atletico winning four of those clashes and three of those encounters ending in a draw. The reverse fixture will be the last time the two meet this season, and the Los Blancos will surely look to beat the Rojiblancos on 22nd April in the second leg of the tie.
Juventus hold a slender lead
Juventus are the runaway leaders in the Serie A, but the Champions League has been a completely different affair for the Turin outfit. Juventus have always found life difficult in the knockout stages of the Champions League and their quarter-final clash against AS Monaco was no different. In spite of being favourites before kick off, Juventus were made to fight hard for their victory against the French side.
Monaco had a host chances at their disposal but the evergreen Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon left the Monaco attack at bay. Juventus had chances to scores throughout the match, but their best chance of the match came when Claudio Marchisio found Tevez unmarked at the far post, but the Argentine scuffed the shot which went straight into the gloves of Monaco keeper Marc-Aurèle Caillard, who made a host of excellent saves throughout the match.
Juventus went ahead, when striker Alvaro Morata was clipped by Monaco defender Ricardo Carvalho and were controversially awarded a penalty. Monaco's protests went in vain as they felt the foul occured outside the box. Nonetheless, Arturo Vidal converted the spot-kick for Juventus in emphatic style sending the ball into the top corner of the net and scored the only goal of the tie.
Juventus hold a slender lead over Monaco, as the French outfit look to overturn their one goal deficit with a win in the return leg at Stade Louis II.
PSG take on the might of Barca
PSG are the only team to have beaten Barcelona in the Champions League this season when the French champions beat the Catalan side 3-2 at the Parc de Princes and will look to emulate their elusive feat with a win on Wednesday night. The two sides who met in the same stage two season ago will renew their hostilities on the field as PSG will look to gain an advantage at home in the two legged tie.
PSG will be without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who serves his four match ban for abusive remarks on referees in the Ligue 1. David Luiz and Thiago Motta are among the other absentees for PSG.
Barca who have dropped points at the top of La Liga with a 2-2 draw against Sevilla, will look to put their domestic woes behind with a win against the French champions. Lionel Messi will be the main man for the Catalan side, who will look to increase his incredible tally of goals in Europe.
Porto take on Bayern in "David versus Goliath" clash
Porto are clearly the underdogs in their quarter final tie as they host German Champions Bayern Munich at home, but will be confident of getting a positive result against the Bavarians. Bayern on the other hand will be wary of the Portuguese outfit who impressively overpowered Swiss giants FC Basel 4-0 in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Bayern Munich who are among three teams including Barcelona and PSG in pursuit of the elusive "treble" of trophies, will be looking to fend off the challenge from Porto in their bid to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fourth consecutive season.
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